On the 6th, we visited Jefferson Island, which has a startlingly crazy history! It was a salt dome that was being mined. Oil was also being extracted in the general area. This dome (or island, as Avery was termed as well) was surrounded by Lake Peigneur. In 1980, an oil rig on the lake mistakenly drilled into the salt mine. Exactly how it happened is still not completely determined, but basically an incredible whirlpool developed, where the lake water got sucked down into the mine. It emptied the lake (super-fast!!)!!!!!! To see more unbelievable details and actual footage of the event, check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddlrGkeOzsI This is one of the most insane man-made disasters I'd never heard of!! And how astounding that this huge event is not classroom material? Why hadn't I ever heard of it?! I'm pretty sure even I wouldn't have slept through this one!! Did you know about it?
Anyways, here's Bill eating some yucky dish he loved (eggplant and all sorts of seafood!!) in the cute Jefferson Island cafe.
We would've done the Jefferson Island garden and house tour, but it was still too early in the season, and stuff still looked a little too wintery... (pretty still, but the lush foliage and flowers it's known for weren't out yet)
So then we moved on to New Iberia. You'll never guess why we went there... Because a little gallery was having an exhibition of George Rodrigue's. Now that might not ring a bell. But ever heard of The Blue Dog?? (and if you haven't, better get out from under that rock!!). Rodrique was a Louisiana artist, actually from New Iberia. He passed away a couple years ago (I think he was only 69), but his Blue Dog lives on...
I liked this painting too. He had many other subjects other than Blue Dog, and he almost always incorporated the south's magnificent oak one way or another (as you'll see in the next two images). But Blue Dog is the one I love. If you google his Blue Dog, I think you'll be amazed at all the variations he came up with!!!
Classic.
One of the main reasons Bill and I always loved Blue Dog is that our Ouraydog looked like the perfect Blue Dog, only in blonde. Well, Hayes has that look too! So here's our Hayes as Blue Dog! (hope you don't mind George - it is most definitely that imitation as flattery thing!!)
While in New Iberia, I had to photograph a few of the wonderful, old stately houses near the river (or actually, near the Bayou Teche)...
Really grand...
Who magnificent homes! Imagine the upkeep?!!
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